I have 'liked' photography since I was a kid, and was actually very much into it until the late 80's. At that time I had -I still do- a Nikon F3 HP, which I really enjoyed.

I want to start again as an aficionado, and I am wondering if I should go for a full frame Nikon -maybe I'm partial to Nikon-, say D750, a mirrorless, such as the Z6, or go to a 'cropped' frame -which I never even thought existed, since in my time we had just 35mm or larger format. My choice in that would be a Nikon 7500 or 5600? I see that Nikon is holding a great sale on most of their cameras, so it might be a great time to get back into photography...

I would really appreciate the input. BTW, I am into architecture photography, landscape, watersports and night time shooting.

Again, thank you, and hopefully I will hear back from many of you soon!

Nikon has some really nice cameras available now. The end of the school year, and fathers day are two big sale times For cameras. The Nikon D750 and the Nikon D610 both give very high image quality. The new Nikon Z6 offers good image quality as well, and can use with an adapter, a lot of current Nikon F mount lenses.

One question. Do you still have lenses for your F3? If so, perhaps you might want to use some of them with your new Nikon digital.

As in all most all photography equipment acquisition decisions budget Is a factor. How much money are you willing to spend?

It also depends on where you want to go and specifically what you mean.

Architecture and landscape in the extreme point towards FX, a 43MP D850 for max resolution. But a 20MP D7500 + a GOOD lens will do fine. The question is, just how much resolution do you REALLY need.

Watersports, depends on specifically what you mean. It could be DX for better telephoto magnification for shooting a surfer way out there.

Night time shooting, also depends on specifically what you mean.

DX is perfectly adequate for most of us.

If you go DX, I recommend you look at the 18-140 lens. It is a great GP lens, and I love mine. Although for casual home use the smaller/lighter 18-55 is still a good choice.

There may be lenses that are NOT available in DX format, and you have to buy a FX lens.

YOU need to look at the DX lens landscape and match it up against your needs.

Note, the DX cameras are capable of great IQ, IF you match the camera up with a GOOD lens, which in some cases will be a FX lens.

Personally I would not be happy with the single-dial D5600. Having used the two-dial D7200, I find that 2nd dial tremendously helpful for a more advanced user. But the D7xxx series camera is heavier than the D5xxx series camera.

If you want the best IQ and resolution you can, then FX is probably the way to go.

But the good FX gear is generally more expensive and heavier than the DX gear.

The consumer line of FX lenses have greater zoom range and are lighter than the pro line.

Note that the Z series are FX cameras.
While the camera may be smaller and lighter than a FX dSLR, the lenses won't be.

​

If I am estimating your age, I am going to put you in the 60s. In which case, I suggest you consider kit weight as one of your decision factors. As I have gotten older, I cannot carry the kit load that I used to, and had to compromise on my kit significantly, in order to still be mobile.

This is an interesting time to restart, as you have the decision of dSLR or mirrorless. Mirrorless is the future, but dSLRs are NOT going away soon, and the Z6 and Z7 are 1st generation cameras.
The current issue with the Z series cameras, is that the Z series lens landscape is still being built. This means that the lens that you want may not be currently available in a Z series, and you may need to get a F series lens, or wait for it.

Caution, the Nikon FTZ adapter does not support the AF and AF-D autofocus lenses. There is no motor in the adapter to drive the mechanical AF mechanism in those lenses. So you need to be cautious about adapting the older F series lenses.​

Thank you for your very enlightening reply. I think I will look into the D750; it seems to be a great option at the price point. I'm actually in my early 50s, but do want to keep weight in check, so that is something to consider.

It also depends on where you want to go and specifically what you mean.

Architecture and landscape in the extreme point towards FX, a 43MP D850 for max resolution. But a 20MP D7500 + a GOOD lens will do fine. The question is, just how much resolution do you REALLY need.

Watersports, depends on specifically what you mean. It could be DX for better telephoto magnification for shooting a surfer way out there.

Night time shooting, also depends on specifically what you mean.

DX is perfectly adequate for most of us.

If you go DX, I recommend you look at the 18-140 lens. It is a great GP lens, and I love mine. Although for casual home use the smaller/lighter 18-55 is still a good choice.

There may be lenses that are NOT available in DX format, and you have to buy a FX lens.

YOU need to look at the DX lens landscape and match it up against your needs.

Note, the DX cameras are capable of great IQ, IF you match the camera up with a GOOD lens, which in some cases will be a FX lens.

Personally I would not be happy with the single-dial D5600. Having used the two-dial D7200, I find that 2nd dial tremendously helpful for a more advanced user. But the D7xxx series camera is heavier than the D5xxx series camera.

If you want the best IQ and resolution you can, then FX is probably the way to go.

But the good FX gear is generally more expensive and heavier than the DX gear.

The consumer line of FX lenses have greater zoom range and are lighter than the pro line.

Note that the Z series are FX cameras.
While the camera may be smaller and lighter than a FX dSLR, the lenses won't be.

​

If I am estimating your age, I am going to put you in the 60s. In which case, I suggest you consider kit weight as one of your decision factors. As I have gotten older, I cannot carry the kit load that I used to, and had to compromise on my kit significantly, in order to still be mobile.

This is an interesting time to restart, as you have the decision of dSLR or mirrorless. Mirrorless is the future, but dSLRs are NOT going away soon, and the Z6 and Z7 are 1st generation cameras.
The current issue with the Z series cameras, is that the Z series lens landscape is still being built. This means that the lens that you want may not be currently available in a Z series, and you may need to get a F series lens, or wait for it.

Caution, the Nikon FTZ adapter does not support the AF and AF-D autofocus lenses. There is no motor in the adapter to drive the mechanical AF mechanism in those lenses. So you need to be cautious about adapting the older F series lenses.​

Note that the Z series are FX cameras.
While the camera may be smaller and lighter than a FX dSLR, the lenses won't be

The current issue with the Z series cameras, is that the Z series lens landscape is still being built.

Click to expand...

It sounds as if the original poster is most interest in the Nikon D750, which is a fairly light full frame camera. Regarding the weight between the F and Z series of lenses, it might be illuminating to compare the 24- 70 for both systems.

The problem though is that the Z series currently Is in its first generation, while the D-and F- series are far along, and mature.

If you want to go mirrorless go with the Sony A7rIII. Sony is the most advanced in mirrorless technology, but dslrs still outsell mirrorless by a large margin. Yes, there are differences that are endlessly debated like battery life, view finder image quality, AF speeds, size, weight, lens availability, ..., but the sensors are more similar than different so there is very little difference in IQ. There are some great deals on dslrs out there right now. Face it, photography is all about the glass. You can save some money by going with the DX format (APS-C) as very good quality DX glass is less expensive than good quality FX glass. I've got both a D7200 and D500. Many feel that FF is more "professional" and eventually go that way. I've added a D800 and D850 to my lineup. Prices on the Nikon D750, an amazing camera, are unbelievably low. As you can tell, I am invested in Nikon, but I see similar deals on Canon gear. I suggest you find a local camera shop, go in and tell them what you are planning to shoot and let them guide you . You are in a buyers market right now. Have fun shopping.

Thank you for your very enlightening reply. I think I will look into the D750; it seems to be a great option at the price point. I'm actually in my early 50s, but do want to keep weight in check, so that is something to consider.

It also depends on where you want to go and specifically what you mean.

Architecture and landscape in the extreme point towards FX, a 43MP D850 for max resolution. But a 20MP D7500 + a GOOD lens will do fine. The question is, just how much resolution do you REALLY need.

Watersports, depends on specifically what you mean. It could be DX for better telephoto magnification for shooting a surfer way out there.

Night time shooting, also depends on specifically what you mean.

DX is perfectly adequate for most of us.

If you go DX, I recommend you look at the 18-140 lens. It is a great GP lens, and I love mine. Although for casual home use the smaller/lighter 18-55 is still a good choice.

There may be lenses that are NOT available in DX format, and you have to buy a FX lens.

YOU need to look at the DX lens landscape and match it up against your needs.

Note, the DX cameras are capable of great IQ, IF you match the camera up with a GOOD lens, which in some cases will be a FX lens.

Personally I would not be happy with the single-dial D5600. Having used the two-dial D7200, I find that 2nd dial tremendously helpful for a more advanced user. But the D7xxx series camera is heavier than the D5xxx series camera.

If you want the best IQ and resolution you can, then FX is probably the way to go.

But the good FX gear is generally more expensive and heavier than the DX gear.

The consumer line of FX lenses have greater zoom range and are lighter than the pro line.

Note that the Z series are FX cameras.
While the camera may be smaller and lighter than a FX dSLR, the lenses won't be.

​

If I am estimating your age, I am going to put you in the 60s. In which case, I suggest you consider kit weight as one of your decision factors. As I have gotten older, I cannot carry the kit load that I used to, and had to compromise on my kit significantly, in order to still be mobile.

This is an interesting time to restart, as you have the decision of dSLR or mirrorless. Mirrorless is the future, but dSLRs are NOT going away soon, and the Z6 and Z7 are 1st generation cameras.
The current issue with the Z series cameras, is that the Z series lens landscape is still being built. This means that the lens that you want may not be currently available in a Z series, and you may need to get a F series lens, or wait for it.

Caution, the Nikon FTZ adapter does not support the AF and AF-D autofocus lenses. There is no motor in the adapter to drive the mechanical AF mechanism in those lenses. So you need to be cautious about adapting the older F series lenses.​

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

When I was going through a similar exercise, I got some weights, which may be of interest.
- EM10-mk2 = 350g (micro 4/3)
- EM1-mk1 = 443g (micro 4/3)
- D5600 = 415g (DX)
- Z6 = 585g (FX) (The Z series did not exist when I did this exercise.)
- D7200 = 675g (DX) This is my current dSLR, and my reference point.
- D750 = 750g (FX) This is quite close to my D7200.
- D810 = 880g (FX)

Then I got the weights of the various lenses that I was interested in.

Then I added up the weight of the combinations that I was interested in.
- EM1 + 12-60 = 653g This is what I switched to, as my primary system.
- D5600 + 18-140 = 905g
- D7200 + 18-140 = 1165g This is my current dSLR kit, and my reference point.
- D750 + 24-120 = 1460g But with a lens, the difference in weight increased.
- D810 + 24-120 = 1590g

This is just for the GP lens that I selected.
Things get worse when you look at LONG lenses, if long lenses are of interest to you.
I drew a line in the sand for my DX camera, no lens longer than 300mm, and no 70-200/2.8. This was simply to limit the weight of the kit to what I can comfortably hand-hold for a football/soccer/baseball game. A monopod does not fit my style of shooting sports.
My LONG lenses are on my m4/3 camera, where a 300mm lens is a 12x lens. Similar to a heavy 600mm on a FX/FF camera.

A note.
I have both a dSLR (D7200) and a mirrorless (Olympus EM1).
Each system has its advantages and disadvantages, and as of right now, neither is a clear winner over the other.
Here are some comparison points for you to consider.

dSLR :

MUCH better battery life. My D7200 can go 2 DAYS on a charge, my EM1 will go 4 HOURS. This was an unexpected and unpleasant shock to me. I don't know what the Z6 battery life is, but I doubt it will match a dSLR.

If you do sports/action, I found that my D7200 is much better than my EM1-mk1. Rather than completely switching from my D7200 to the EM1, I ended up keeping and using the D7200 for fast sports. Other mirrorless cameras may perform better or worse than my EM1.

The D750 is I think a 4th generation D7xx camera, so a mature product. As Derrel said, the Z6 is a 1st generation Nikon mirrorless.

The dSLR lens landscape is a mature landscape. The Z system lens landscape is slowly being fleshed out. Nikon has published a 5 year plan for the Z lens landscape. Even so, they will still not have all the lenses that the F system dSLR has right now. So if you need a specific lens that has no Z lens, you have to use the FTZ adapter and buy a F lens.

mirrorless:

EVF. In difficult lighting conditions, I can easily adjust my exposure BEFORE I press the shutter. With my dSLR I have to shoot, chimp, adjust, and repeat until I get the correct exposure.

EVF. In bright light, I can verify the exposure in the EVF. Whereas on the dSLR the back screen is useless, with too much reflected glare.

Body weight and bulk is less than dSLR.

But the lenses will be about the same weight, not lighter, FX is FX.

For the future, things will most probably go mirrorless. A Z6 would start you on that path, and you would not have to do a system switch from D750 to a Z camera in a few years. Presuming that you want to switch to mirrorless.

But don't worry, the Nikon (and Canon) dSLR system has such a huge customer base that Nikon is not going to just abandon it for mirrorless.